Doyle proposes child care tax deduction

Gov. Jim Doyle today called for the creation of a state tax deduction for the parents of children in child care.

Parents would be able to deduct up to $3,000 for one child and up to $6,000 for two or more children, under Doyle's proposal.

Speaking in Milwaukee, Doyle said that if approved, the deduction would save nearly $400 a year for a family with two children in child care.

Doyle estimated that more than 100,000 families would benefit from the deduction, which would save them - and cost the state - about $16 million a year.

Doyle said the plan is aimed at "regular, hard-working middle-class folks" who need relief.

The deduction would be available to anyone, regardless of income.

About two dozen other states have such a deduction, according to Doyle aides.

Doyle made the announcement at the Penfield Children's Center in Milwaukee after a series of stops in the city to highlight $4 million in neighborhood housing initiatives.

The tax break for child-care costs is the second such initiative announced by Doyle in the past three weeks, with both coming out of the governor's office in the run-up to the Nov. 7 election, when voters will choose between Doyle, Republican Mark Green and Green Party candidate Nelson Eisman.

In August, Doyle proposed a tax deduction for workers who share in the health care premiums with employers. That plan is expected to save workers - and cost the state treasury - about $50 million a year. Doyle said it would help up to 637,700 families or individuals.

Doyle estimated it would save an average of $236 a year for a family now paying $300 a month to be in their employer's health care plan. At the time, Green called the plan "not a bad idea," but also only a "very modest step" that "does nothing about health care costs."

Green is a supporter of health savings accounts, which gives employees tax advantages for medical expenses they pay directly. Doyle vetoed such a proposal, saying it did too little to fix the health care system.In a radio ad that began running this week, a spoof of Bud Lite ads, Green lampoons Doyle as "Mister tax-hiking politician man."